The History of Radio From Principles of Electronic Media (Davie & Upshaw, 2006)

The History of Radio The 1800s: Earliest Broadcasting Maxwell (Theorized the existence of electromagnetic waves as “luminous ether.”) Bell (Transmitting sounds by telegraph in 1877.) Hertz (Invented the “spark-gap detector” which verified the existence of electromagnetic waves.) Marconi (Invented radio in First radio company in London, 1897.)

The Radio in the home Before the TV there was the radio Radios came in different shapes and sizes The average cost of a radio in $30-$100 during the 1930’s How much is that today (adjusting for inflation)?

THE ANSWER IS…. $ $

The History of Radio : The Industry Gets Started –Who Was First? (KDKA in 1920). –RCA’s Risk (Sarnoff, NBC, 1922 World Series). –CBS’s Move (New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Symphony orchestras join with the Columbia Phonograph Company). –William S. Paley (the “Tiffany Network”).

KDKA PITTSBURGH "This is KDKA, of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We shall now broadcast the election returns."East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania —Leo Rosenburg, on the very first radio broadcast by KDKA, November 2, First licensed radio station to broadcast

KDKA November 2 nd 1920 Warren G. Harding had defeated James M. Cox in the presidential race KDKA announced the results making it the first time in history this current event was broadcast through the air waves

KDKA Lets listen to a recreation of the broadcast -po8http:// -po8 How do you think this new approach to news and current events was accepted?

The History of Radio Communications Act of 1934: Federal law bringing most telecommunications under oversight of one agency and board of commissioners.

The History of Radio : Pivotal Historical Period –“During the Great Depression that had descended in 1929, with more than one- third of the work force jobless, a growing number of Americans tuned in their radios for relief and psychological support. –Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “fireside chats”

The Radio as Entertainment Before TV shows or the internet there were radio shows. People would tune in each night to hear their favorite program (much like we do today) Can you name any famous radio programs?

SOME FAMOUS SHOWS

The History of Radio : Pivotal Historical Period War of the Worlds “Actor Orson Wells narrated a 1938 Halloween tale of Martians landing in New Jersey, based on H.G. Welles’ War of the Worlds. The show’s disclaimer failed to register with Americans already primed for disaster on the eve of world war.”

WHY THE PANIC? Take a minute or two and come up with a few reasons why you think the broadcast caused such a panic and be ready to share them Let’s listen and see mQpQhttp:// mQpQ

WHY THE PANIC? The show was presented as a play but unfortunately most Americans missed the beginning where it was stated as a play The show was structured like a normal radio broadcast with news interruptions. People “channel surfing” might tune in and not understand

THE OUTCOME

Lots of people panicked Some fled to the hills and woods for safety Most just stayed in doors There may or may not have been a few deaths (historians disagree but legend persists there were)

The Radio as Entertainment Before TV shows or the internet there were radio shows. People would tune in each night to hear their favorite program (much like we do today) Can you name any famous radio programs?

The History of Radio : The “Golden” Age AM Radio – Still Thriving –78 and 33 1/3 RPM Records –Transistors Make Radios Smaller –Formats – Rotating Blocks to “Top 40”

NEWSREELS

ANOTHER WAY TO GET THE NEWS During the early part of the 20 th century most Americans went to the movies Before the start of the show the theater would run a Newsreel This enabled Americas to “see” the news.

WHAT DOES A NEWSREEL LOOK LIKE? This is “Galloping Gertie” PFTMhttp:// PFTM Newsreels would sometimes focus on one event/person and sometimes they were a collection of stories

The History of Radio : Radio’s Transformation –FM Increases Popularity April 1961: FCC approval of Zenith-GE standards for FM broadcasting. The FCC mandates that stations needed to generate new content for FM bands.

Terms –AM: Amplitude modulation; a way of adjusting radio waves to carry sound by changing their height and depth but not their width. –FM: Frequency modulation: a way of adjusting radio waves to carry sound by changing their width.

The History of Radio : Radio’s Transformation Public Radio Act of 1967 –“After the adoption of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the FCC licensed more than 1,500 radio stations as “noncommercial educational”…. Many of these stations would receive federal money distributed through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – a fact that annoyed commercial broadcasters envious of such subsidies.”

The History of Radio 1980-Present: Radio Challenges Talk Radio A Chance to Talk Back Personalities –Relaxed Rules on Ownership 1980 Deregulation More Stations per Owner Localism and Profits Satellite Radio

The History of Radio Where we are now… Radio –Digital Broadcasts –Internet Streaming

Assignment Please go to and click on the LISTEN tab at the top. You will then choose to listen to the Hourly News Summary on the right. Once you have finished listening, use the internet to find supplemental articles related to the top news stories you listened about (save these links!) –I.E. If you listened to a news clip about NASA and the shuttle, find a print news article on the same topic. Then log into twiducate and post a response to the Week 2 Discussion Topic Question (you will need the links you saved from the supplemental news articles) Remember to click the COMMENT link below the discussion question to post your response in the thread. –Also, remember that you should be commenting on at least 2 of your classmates posts to the discussion.